Joshua Harris is the Vice President of Public Engagement at the Obama Foundation, where he has helped lead the Foundation's coalition-building, community engagement, and government affairs work in the lead-up to and opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago in June of this year. He joined the Foundation in April 2022 as Director of Community Engagement & Government Affairs and was promoted to his current role a year later.

Before joining the Obama Foundation, Harris built a career spanning government, non-profit, and national political organizing. He served as Associate State Director for Advocacy and Outreach at AARP, and before that as Director of External Affairs for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. He also served as Director of Partnerships in the Office of the City Treasurer for Chicago, where he acted as a strategic advisor to the City Treasurer and managed the office's relationships with partner organizations.

Prior to his time in Chicago, Harris held senior roles in the Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser in Washington, D.C., where he led the recruitment and hiring of more than 200 mayoral appointees and oversaw a newly created office focused on expanding economic opportunity in underserved communities across the city.

Harris has also held senior positions on national political campaigns, including as National Data & Reporting Director for AARP's Take a Stand Campaign, Regional Field Director for the Northeast at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Regional Political Director for the Midwest at the Democratic National Committee, leading political engagement. He is also a veteran of the Obama for America reelection campaign.

He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Orleans in 2008. We are honored and grateful to have Mr. Harris as our keynote speaker at LABMUNC VII!